I saw the show. Before they made their AFC picks, I predicted they'd go with the Ravens, the Steelers and someone would pick the Bolts. That was the exact order of the picks too LOL.
Those are 3 very solid and very scary teams don't get me wrong, but yeah, a little fishy when vegas has the Pats as a clear #1 but not bspn. we're getting our share of love too though...peter king and others....but honestly we'd all rather fly under the radar anyway. I love the fact that the crypt keeper is predicting 6 losses for this team. I honestly don't know how anyone who is objective at ESPN doesn't fire him for that opinion, but whatever. He'd be calling the team old if we hadn't gotten younger. You can't win.
Clayton doesn't recognize anyone on the defense anymore so he thinks they will suck. He also keeps talking about how yards or TD passes measure how great QBs are....the fantasy mentality. He must know that stats aren't normalized across the league because some guys have a ton of first round weapons around them, and some guys don't, and some guys play in a dome or a fair weather market and are therefore built into a pinball offensive scheme while others play in a system geared for the northeast weather. so u have to use YOUR EYES to tell you how great a QB is....and with your eyes you have to be able to evaluate DECISIONS and not just how hard a guy throws the ball at his receivers....but Clayton doesn't understand the game so he has to fall back on how many yards or tds they throw. It's laughable.
I love how the media is also trying to make bill look like a meanie for forcing Richard to "relocate his family from massachusetts." If I hear that one more time. It's the NFL. It's free agency. It's the hold out era. Multi Millionaire players change teams and cities and travel and families go with them. the media can't stand BB. He is an ******* to them so they go out of their way to make him look like scrooge.
BB has made mistakes. this isn't the deion branch fiasco. I was the only poster on this board at the time who questioned the sanity of that decision. everyone else was saying, goodbye Deion, you are a selfish me-first guy, we don't need you we're just fine wtih Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel, etc.... Having a legit receiver on taht team earns us a ring in 06 and whatever extra 1-2 mill that deion was asking for he was worth and we all know it now.
deion threatened to sit out the REGULAR season and the Pats hadn't dealt with that before. the Pats were looking at Deion's value on the open market as not being very high and using that as leverage against him. But BB refused to acknowledge that Deion's value to the pats was greater than any other team because of his RAPPORT with tom...and that Deion understood this and that ultimately that gave him the upper hand at the table (and rightfully so to a certain extent). the rapport with tom is what made his value exceed what it was elsewhere based on his pure talent alone. Bill really let his ego get in the way of that one and we learned the hard way. And we were talking about FAR LESS money than we are with seymour. The moral of that one was that you better consult with tom before letting a cheap receiver walk who put in thousands of hours of practice with him....they learned and basically any receiver who gets let go now, is a guy who tom doesn't like. But that summer Tom told Peter King that he didn't want Deion to be let go and Bill ignored him and took the economic hard line stance. I'm not suggesting that Bill should ever "overpay" anyone, I'm just suggesting that we totally missed Deion's true value.
I'm objective about these things....that's my only point. When BB is wrong I can admit it....and so will bill, that's what I love about him....he's not afraid to cut a guy he realizes was a mistake even though the felgers of the world will go nuts on the radio.
But you can't sit there and pretend that every move BB makes is wrong like Felger and expect anyone to take you seriously. tonight he even said that the Buffalo had better receivers than the Pats!!! Yeah, the most talented deep threat in the history of the league and the best slot receiver in the game....but Felger says, "yeah, but who do they have after that." You just have to laugh.
but the seymour deal is easily equal net present value....no front office makes decisions based solely on the current season....they'd be laughed out of the league. it's a salary cap system. it's not baseball. it's not just win right now at all costs. the fans dont' get it and they never will. YOU CAN'T KEEP EVERYONE. you have to manage the cap and that means looking at FUTURE years. As great players get older, their performance DECLINES, but their contract value usually INCREASES. If fans could understand this basic economic principle and realize that under a salary cap you have to avoid this AT ALL COSTS. especially when Al Davis gives away his top pick in teh draft.
Sey is going to suck in Oakland. the guy plays when he wants to now. He takes off plays. He takes off games too. He's inconsistent and I really think it speaks about his conditioning. Bill doesn't want him to train down in SC because he knows he ISN'T training....he's BBQing....and giant DTs need to stay in really good shape as they get toward the 10 year mark. borges is a friend and would never admit it, but it's not just the injuries that have hurt richard, it's his age, and also his conditioning. And how much effort is he going to give out in OAKLAND!?
if word had leaked that Al Davis had offered the Pats a high first round pick for an aging DT in the last year of his contract but the Pats balked and didn't do the deal, the radio people like Felger would be SCREAMING at him....after all, he let Cassel go to his buddy Pioli for a second rounder, why wouldn't he be willing to part with Sey at this stage of his career for that kind of value.
They are all being contrarians.
as for whether Seymour's feelings are hurt...who effing cares. Deal with it Richard. you wanted to play hardball with the Pats.....good for you....they can play that game too. It's a business, just like YOU always said.
Same b.s. with brandon marshall. All the former average players who are now commentators acting like he is a "distraction" and not being "a team player"....UM, IT'S THE OFFSEASON....he'll show up and play the games and be a great teammate, just like 9 out of 10 other great players who try to negotiate their way into more money by holding out or being a malcontent. it's a NEGOTIATING tactic. They players are nowadays instructed by their agents to hold out or act dissatisfied with their deals. It's how the league works at the superstar level. Most of the guys on TV, like Dilfer and T. Hasselbeck were not superstars and do not understand this principle.
It's almost always a political reason behind these picks though. for instance it's well known that Michael Smith is desperate to earn national respect and that he's afraid of being seen as a homer. Notice he always makes sure to mention peyton manning AND THEN tom brady when mentioning the best QBs in the league. please don't think that's an accident.
I like the fact that Schefter isn't afraid to say the broncos are underated. I agree and he's right, but most guys who used to beat report for a team -- ESPECIALLY ex-boston media members -- are usually afraid to go there.
